Workers stand around Cassini's upper experiment module and base in the PHSF

[KSC-97PC-0731]

  • Photo Number: KSC-97PC-0731

  • Release Date: 22-Apr-1997

    • Description: Workers in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility (PHSF) stand around the upper experiment module and base of the Cassini orbiter during prelaunch processing, testing and integration in that facility. The Cassini orbiter and Huygens probe being processed at KSC are the two primary components of the Cassini spacecraft, which will be launched on a Titan IVB/Centaur expendable launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral Air Station. Cassini will explore Saturn, its rings and moons for four years. The Huygens probe, designed and developed for the European Space Agency (ESA), will be deployed from the orbiter to study the clouds, atmosphere and surface of Saturn's largest moon, Titan. The orbiter was designed and assembled at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. Following postflight inspections, integration of the 12 science instruments not already installed on the orbiter will be completed. Then, the parabolic high-gain antenna and the propulsion module will be mated to the orbiter, followed by the Huygens probe, which will complete spacecraft integration. The Cassini mission is targeted for an Oct. 6 launch to begin its 6.7-year journey to the Saturnian system. Arrival at the planet is expected to occur around July 1, 2004.

    Resolution Format Width
    (Pixels)    		 Height
    (Pixels)    		 Size
    (Bytes)
    Thumbnail GIF 100 80 12078
    Slide GIF 162 156 36393
    Low GIF 300 240 102592
    Medium JPEG 960 768 152693
    High JPEG 2400 1920 939123

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    Photos By: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
    Scanned By: Bionetics and NASA/KSC Public Affairs Office
    Captions: Sherikon Space Systems
    Curator: NASA/KSC Internet Systems Lab (Dumoulin, Downs, Paladino)
    Last Updated: Tuesday August 28 14:54:13 EDT 2001 (Kay Grinter)

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